Looking for an easy, inexpensive way to make your house smell great? Bring in the warm, comforting aromas of fall by simmering a few household ingredients you may already have on hand! Simmering potpourri recipes are an easy and inexpensive way to make your house smell seasonally fresh using common household ingredients and WITHOUT the use of harmful chemicals! They’re especially useful for anyone planning to put their home on the market soon — research shows that potential buyers can find overly complex fragrances too distracting. These natural fragrance recipes are light and clean, a great way to make your house smell welcoming to anyone who visits this fall!

How to Do It:

Cut up all your ingredients and add to a small sauce pan or pot. Add water until ingredients float. Bring to a gentle boil, then immediately turn the heat down to a low simmer and enjoy! Add more water as needed, typically about every 30 minutes (otherwise, you’ll end up with the smell of scorched food wafting through the house–YUCK).

Try these aromatic combinations (measurements don’t have to be exact so adjust according to your taste):

• orange peel and a teaspoon of vanilla (we like Watkins Original Gourmet Baking Vanilla Extract)
• orange peel, 3 cinnamon sticks (try these from McCormick), a few whole cloves (these organic cloves from Ceylon Flavors smell amazing)
• sprig of fresh rosemary, teaspoon of vanilla, lemon rind (also known as the famous “Williams Sonoma scent”)
• apple peel, a few whole cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks, orange peel

It should probably go without saying, but being the conscientious home stager that I am, I’m going to say it anyway:  don’t leaving anything burning on the stove unattended. Another (safer?) alternative is to simmer the entire mixture to a small crockpot. I like to bring mine to a boil first, then transfer to the crockpot and leave it uncovered on the “Low” setting. Save the mixture in a glass jar in the fridge when you’re done (can last several days). Just reheat the next day to re-scent your home.

Need more tips on how to freshen up your home for fall? Call Three Bears Home Staging at (832) 377-0785 to set up an initial consultation!

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